While some government secrets are necessary in some areas, Obama has gone over the cliff in trying to hide government actions from the people. ---- WASHINGTON â Even before a former U.S. intelligence contractor exposed the secret collection of Americansâ phone records, the Obama administration was pressing a government-wide crackdown on security threats that requires federal employees to keep closer tabs on their co-workers and exhorts managers to punish those who fail to report their suspicions. President Barack Obamaâs unprecedented initiative, known as the Insider Threat Program, is sweeping in its reach. It has received scant public attention even though it extends beyond the U.S. national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. It emphasizes leaks of classified material, but catchall definitions of âinsider threatâ give agencies latitude to pursue and penalize a range of other conduct. Government documents reviewed by McClatchy illustrate how some agencies are using that latitude to pursue unauthorized disclosures of any information, not just classified material. They also show how millions of federal employees and contractors must watch for âhigh-risk persons or behaviorsâ among co-workers and could face penalties, including criminal charges, for failing to report them. Leaks to the media are equated with espionage. âHammer this fact home . . . leaking is tantamount to aiding the enemies of the United States,â says a June 1, 2012, Defense Department strategy for the program that was obtained by McClatchy. The Obama administration is expected to hasten the programâs implementation as the government grapples with the fallout from the leaks of top secret documents by Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who revealed the agencyâs secret telephone data collection program. The case is only the latest in a series of what the government condemns as betrayals by âtrusted insidersâ who have harmed national security. âLeaks related to national security can put people at risk,â Obama said on May 16 in defending criminal investigations into leaks. âThey can put men and women in uniform that Iâve sent into the battlefield at risk. They can put some of our intelligence officers, who are in various, dangerous situations that are easily compromised, at risk. . . . So I make no apologies, and I donât think the American people would expect me as commander in chief not to be concerned about information that might compromise their missions or might get them killed.â As part of the initiative, Obama ordered greater protection for whistleblowers who use the proper internal channels to report official waste, fraud and abuse, but thatâs hardly comforting to some national security experts and current and former U.S. officials. They worry that the Insider Threat Program wonât just discourage whistleblowing but will have other grave consequences for the publicâs right to know and national security. The program could make it easier for the government to stifle the flow of unclassified and potentially vital information to the public, while creating toxic work environments poisoned by unfounded suspicions and spurious investigations of loyal Americans, according to these current and former officials and experts. Some non-intelligence agencies already are urging employees to watch their co-workers for âindicatorsâ that include stress, divorce and financial problems. Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/...iews-leaks-as.html#.UcPHAOvxbFl#storylink=cpy
You mean when he said, "My administration will be the most -cough <font size=1 color=red><b>non</font></b>- transparent administration in history."